


December Meet Cute

by RainbowArches



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Star Wars: The Force Awakens references, only one brief incident
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-10
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-05-13 01:46:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5689837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowArches/pseuds/RainbowArches
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It starts with Akela wanting nothing to do with SHIELD and ends with Akela wanting nothing to do with SHIELD. But she does get kissed and she sees Star Wars.</p>
            </blockquote>





	December Meet Cute

Akela could run her own bakery if she wanted to start working again. Maybe she would if she got that bored. She’d had the last two years free to perfect the art; her cookies didn’t come out all crumbly, her cake didn’t leave huge chunks stuck to the pan; her frosting wasn’t lumpy or watery. She might as well put all that hard work to use. Right now the only people who got to enjoy the fruits of her efforts were the kids and her study group.

Her decorating skills were better, too. Or maybe she just cared more about presentation now. Either way, these teddy bear sugar cookies looked like she’d cut them out of a magazine. The icing was nice and smooth and didn’t drip all over the place and the red and green sprinkles hadn’t melted into yellow splotches. She packed them into two tins, confident that her decorating would stay intact.

She’d never been big on Christmas; too much hassle. It was too big of a _thing_ for her to perform every year. But she made it a point to acknowledge the holiday. She’d make themed cookies and put a wreath on the door and wear her Santa hat sometimes. Maybe watch the specials. Okay, she was into Christmas. She just preferred to celebrate it quietly with minimal fuss.

There was a knock at the door. Akela frantically looked for the snow globe that didn’t stop snowing and shoved it in a drawer. She went to the door and peered through the peephole. She didn’t recognize the young woman, which was fine with her. It meant this would probably be a brief visit and she could get back to her baking. She opened the door.

“Hi,” said the woman, smiling.

Akela smiled back. Nothing happened. “Yes?”

“Daisy Johnson; SHIELD.”

She was acting like Akela should know what she was talking about. She _did_ know what she was talking about. Akela knew she wouldn’t be able to hide from SHIELD forever, especially after inexplicably acquiring superpowers. But normally when SHIELD showed up they acted all mysterious and stuck up, whereas Daisy looked apologetic and… familiar.

“Do I know you?”

Relief flashed across Daisy’s face for a millisecond before it was replaced by a neutral version of her original expression. “We met briefly a couple of years ago, back when I had long hair and went by Skye. You drove me into a ditch.”

“Oh. Right.” Of course Akela remembered that, and she vaguely remembered Daisy. To say they met was an overstatement, if not plain wrong. The name Skye had come up a few times and Akela was able to determine who that was by process of elimination. She didn’t think Skye- Daisy- wanted to talk to her, and Akela hadn’t cared. “Come in.”

Daisy stepped inside and wandered over to the kitchen island, looking around the cluttered apartment as she did so. Akela had collected a lot of clutter the last couple of years. It was the downside to having money to spare and no sales resistance. It wasn’t useful clutter either. Her apartment was filled with obscure decorative knickknacks that she wasn’t even sure she liked, but couldn’t bring herself to give away. At least it was a spacious apartment, so the clutter wasn’t overwhelming.

“Purple eye’s kind of distinctive for a spy, isn’t it?” Daisy said, referring to Akela’s prosthetic eye.

“I’m retired.”

Daisy turned to face her as she slipped her jacket off and threw it onto the counter. “Retired? Already? What, are you rich?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.”

Daisy hopped up onto a stool. “Smells good in here. Christmas baking?”

“Mm-hm.” Akela went to the kitchen and pulled a couple of lemonades out of the fridge. She placed one in front of Daisy, then opened hers and drained a quarter of it. She leaned against the counter and waited for the next question.

“So what do you do all day if you’re retired?” Daisy asked.

Akela shrugged. “Just… hang out.” She didn’t see any harm in reciting her weekly schedule to Daisy; she just didn’t want to. Besides, if SHIELD really needed to know they could find out themselves with a little digging.

“Just hang out and bake cookies and buy things?”

“Yep.”

“Could you, like, marry me?”

Akela snorted and took another sip of her drink.

“Okay.” Daisy folded her hands over the lid of her bottle in a businesslike manner. “I’m guessing I don’t have to tell you why I’m here.”

“You want to make sure I’m not menacing people with my superpowers.”

“I know you’re not menacing people with them. We’re not that slow. We just want to know what they are and how you’re handling them.”

Akela took the snow globe out of the drawer and tossed it to Daisy, who caught it. “I do things like that.”

A delighted smile spread across Daisy’s face as she watched the perpetual snowfall. She tapped the glass curiously.

Akela focused on the glass and the snow stopped falling. Daisy shook it, sending the flakes into a swirl. Akela concentrated on the mini blizzard until it kept itself going.

“Cool,” said Daisy.

“I didn’t have any trouble with it. Never had a public incident either. I barely use them except for stuff like that.” She gestured at the snow globe.

Daisy put the snow globe aside and returned her hands to the lemonade. She fixed Akela with a serious expression which might have had Akela squirming if she weren’t familiar with SHIELD and if she didn’t do better serious expressions. “We just need-“

“I’m not going back to SHEILD.”

“You don’t have to stay. We just need to know the extent of your abilities so that we can give you more options. And then if you decide-”

“I don’t want to train with SHIELD, I don’t want to work for SHIELD, and I don’t want to fight for SHIELD. I’m _done_ with SHIELD.”

Daisy’s head tilted to the side and she smiled at Akela like she was trying to get a toddler to see the fun side of bath time. “Aren’t you the least bit curious about your powers?”

“No.”

Daisy sighed and started putting her jacket back on. “Well, I tried. You can’t win them all.”

Akela followed her to the door.

“For the record,” Daisy continued. “I totally get you not wanting to come back to SHIELD. I’m not here to force that on you. But I should tell you, even though Coulson doesn’t want me to, that we’ll be keeping an eye on you for your own protection. There are other people who have their own ideas about dealing with Inhumans. That’s what we’re called, by the way.”

“Cute.”

“Yeah. Anyway, these other guys might not give you a say in what happens. We want to make sure you have at least that much.”

Akela sucked in her lip, considering, then huffed and rolled her eyes as she came to a decision. “Wait here.” She went and found a pen and paper and scribbled her cell phone number, and gave it and the snow globe to Daisy. “Just to make protecting me easier for you. You can sell those to Coulson as results so he won’t be mad that you tipped me off.”

“Thanks,” she said, flashing a half smile that mimicked a smirk. It made Akela more nervous than her serious expression did. “I’ll keep in touch.”

Daisy left and Akela went back to the kitchen to start the dishes. She wished she knew what to expect when Daisy said “keep in touch.”

 

Akela was at least eight years older than everyone in her study group. There was only one guy, the youngest of the six of them, who for whatever reason had made Akela the target of his affection. She wasn’t pleased about this. He was always late, always behind, condescending despite never understanding a thing he or anyone else was talking about, and he chewed his food really loud. Like, _really_ loud. Sometimes with his mouth open.

He asked Akela out after every study session. She tried being nice, making up excuses, pretending to be busy. Then she tried being blunt. Finally she said yes, _one_ date, we’ll see how it goes, no promises. Maybe if she gave him that much and then said she still wasn’t interested he’d leave her alone.

Which was why she was sitting by herself at a café, sipping her third cup of coffee and doing the crossword. He was late, as always. She’d already received two texts from him saying he’d be there in ten minutes. She wasn’t bothered. She didn’t want to be on this date, after all. But it was a nice café with good coffee and good pie, and she’d rather enjoy her own company than pretend to enjoy his.

She finished her coffee and decided she’d waited long enough. She paid her bill, put her jacket on and left (quickly, in case he came rushing through the door at that precise moment). She paused at the corner and sent him a text saying today obviously wasn’t going to work for him and she was going home. She had to wait at the crosswalk for two whole minutes before the light changed. She was across the street by the time he texted her back, telling her to wait ten more minutes. She rolled her eyes and kept walking. There was a time when she would have ditched the group simply because she didn’t like that guy. Now here she was, trying to humour him by waiting at a café for an hour and a half, responding to his texts, making every session. Sure, it was all to get him to accept that she didn’t like him, and she kept going because she liked the others, but she kind of missed the old version of herself who wouldn’t have put up with any of it, no matter what. She must be getting lonely.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and checked the number. She didn’t recognize it, which meant one thing.

“Agent Johnson. How’s it going?”

“Civilians call me Daisy. You applying for a job?”

“What can I do for you, Daisy?”

“I just wanted to check in, make sure you’re alright. You know the snow globe you gave me? The snow’s been collecting at the bottom since yesterday morning. It’s about half full.”

“Really? It’s been multiplying?”

“Looks like.”

“I didn’t know I could do that.”

“Well, you can. It’s just, it wasn’t doing that before. Is something distracting you?”

Akela didn’t have an explanation for her other than this kid with a crush getting on her last nerve, and she didn’t want to go into that. “Just people being annoying I guess.”

“Think you can get it under control. Try to focus.”

Akela pictured the snow globe as Daisy described it to her. She took a deep breath and imagined the snow level dropping until it was back to normal. Her powers came so naturally to her that it was hard to make them work deliberately, but Daisy said it worked.

“Be careful,” Daisy reminded her. “It’s easy to lose control when you’re upset. Next time it might not be a snow globe we have to contend with.”

“No, I might accidentally animate a rubber duck.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I. Look, it was one tiny incident since I don’t even know how long, and my life isn’t eventful enough that my getting upset would be dangerous.”

“Look, just… if someone annoys you just picture the snow globe.”

“Sure thing, boss.” She heard the flippancy in her voice and felt bad, but the cold was biting her fingers and she was anxious to get off the phone. “Listen, I’m going to go to go home and try the rubber duck thing. You got someone on standby over there in case multitasking goes haywire?”

“You have a rubber duck?”

“I buy a lot of crap, okay?”

“I’ll keep an eye on it. Have fun.”

“You too.”

Akela hung up and shoved the phone and her hands into her pockets. The forecast had obviously lied to her about the wind chill.

When she got home she filled the tub water and set her rubber duck afloat. Before long she had it paddling laps around the tub, even blinking its eyes and ruffling its feathers. Or maybe it just had the appearance of doing so; she wasn’t quite sure.

She got a few more texts, which she ignored. Daisy didn’t call again. Akela supposed that was a good thing.

 

The kids filed out of the room, chatting animatedly amongst each other and riding a sugar high from all the frosted cookies Akela had fed them. She could find healthier snack to make but it was only once a week, and once story time was over she was no longer responsible for them. Akela talked with a few of the lingering parents while she cleaned. There were always a few who wanted to talk to her about things she couldn’t relate to at all, which was fine, but Akela always felt kind of patronized by them. She got the impression that they weren’t just telling them about their kids’ birthday party; they were suggesting things to her; helping her. Akela got on just fine without their help, but she tried to incorporate some of their suggestions into the hour she was given with the kids, in the hopes that they’d stop suggesting. It didn’t work.

She followed the last two out of the room and spotted Daisy sitting at the octagon table on one of those little chairs, flipping through a picture book. She looked up when Akela stopped in front of her.

“I knew you did other stuff,” she said.

She clearly had no intention to move, legs crossed, smirking up at her, finger preparing to turn the page. Akela sat in the chair next to her. “Can I help you with something?”

Daisy turned back to her book, nonchalant. “Just checking in again. I didn’t realise you were regularly surrounded by kids. Wanted to see for myself that you’ve got everything under control.”

Akela frowned. “You did see for yourself. When you came to my apartment, remember? I’m beginning to think you want something to happen.”

“You accidentally filled the snow globe. I needed to double check that everything was okay.”

“This is probably not a conversation we should have here,” Akela said, checking that the people milling around were ignoring them.

“We’re okay. I made sure.”

Akela had never had to check the children’s section of the library for enemy spies before, and wondered what Daisy meant by “made sure.”

“Are you going to check that out?” she asked.

Daisy stared at her with raised eyebrows for a second before realising that Akela meant the book. “Oh. No.”

“Can I help you find something?”

“I’m good.”

“Okay. I’m going home then.”

Akela was out the door by the time Daisy caught up with her, apparently having decided they weren’t finished with their meeting.

“Did you get the duck working?”

“It’s drinking my bath water right now.”

“Can I see?”

Akela sighed. She couldn’t tell if Daisy was asking because she didn’t believe her or because she thought a rubber duck swimming on its own was more exciting than it actually was. It was probably just SHIELD keeping tabs on her. She didn’t voice any of this though. Instead she said, “Sure, if you want.”

They didn’t bother taking off their boots and jackets when they got there. Akela led Daisy into the bathroom to see the duck circling the bathtub, looking like rubber but alive.

“Wow.” Daisy took out her phone and started filming it.

“What are you doing?”

“Getting a video to go with the snow globe.”

“To… study?”

“Nah. Just to have. It’s kind of hard to supervise you when you’re not on base- not that you need supervision- so it’s nice to have a catalogue of this kind of stuff. Is that okay?”

“I guess.”

“Wanna be in it?”

“No.”

Daisy put her phone away. “Well. Thanks. Guess I’d better be going.”

Akela escorted her to the door. “Are you going to show up every time I get bored and experiment a little?”

“Probably not if you have everything reigned in as well as you seem to. I’m still going to keep in touch though, because your powers are fun.”

“You never told me what your powers are.”

“Maybe I’ll show you sometime.”

Daisy probably thought she’d made an awesome exit with that playful mysterious smirk on her face. It was okay. Akela had done better.

 

Why did Akela let the dickhead kid persuade her to another date? Oh well, it didn’t matter. They’d agreed to meet an hour early and eat before seeing the movie. Akela had been here an hour and five minutes. She’d eaten and done some grocery shopping, and he was a no-show. He’d texted her five times, telling her he was on his way. Whether that was true or not, she wasn’t going to see him. She’d either see the movie by herself or go straight home, but there was no way he was showing up. Which was fine. Akela wasn’t eager to listen to him chew popcorn noisily and messily and give her commentary on everything for two hours.

“Hey.”

Akela jumped, even though the voice sounded nothing like his. She was relieved to find that the speaker was in fact Daisy.

“Hey. What are you doing here?”

Daisy held up a couple of bags. “Little Christmas shopping. What about you?”

“I’m debating whether or not to see The Force Awakens.”

Daisy’s eyes went wide and she gasped excitedly. “Are you? Can I see it with you? Bobbi’s seen it three times and keeps vague blogging about it.”

“Vague blogging? Wait, she had time to see it three times?”

“Does it start right away?” Daisy asking as if Akela hadn’t spoken.

“Yeah.”

“Let’s see it.”

So that settled that. It was a good thing Daisy showed up when she did because Akela didn’t like going to the theatre by herself and she’d been _this close_ to going home, and then she never would have experienced the awesome that was this movie. She wasn’t even that big on Star Wars.

Daisy, thankfully, was not an obnoxious viewer. She reacted but she didn’t chatter, and Akela didn’t have to listen to every sound her mouth made as she munched popcorn.

The filed out of the theatre grinning when it was over.

“Oh my god, I loved it!” Daisy declared, and proceeded to babble nonsensically about what they’d just seen. “Ugh! Rey! She’s so cute and badass! And I’m so happy Leia was there! Ugh, and Han Solo and Poe and Chewie and BB-8-“

“And Finn.”

“Oh my god, Finn!”

“ _Fiiinn!”_

And then they quoted the movie at each other until they were in the car lot. It was dark save for the orange glow from the street lamps and snowing lightly.

“Did you walk here?” Daisy asked.

“Yes.” Akela waked everywhere. It was easier for her; she hated sharing the road. Besides which, she was a terrible car owner.

“I can drive you home.”

“You gonna show me what your powers do?”

“Sure.”

It was a short drive to Akela’s place. They were silent for the duration of it. When they got there Akela dropped her bags onto the counter and followed Daisy into the bathroom where the duck was still paddling around.

“Okay,” she said. “Watch.”

She stretched her arms toward the water. The water rippled. Then Daisy pushed outwards with both hands and the water parted like the Red Sea, make two still waves on either end. The duck rested on the top of one, blinking worriedly, before slipping forward onto the tub floor.

“Nice,” said Akela, honestly impressed. “How do you do that?”

“I can tap into the vibrations of anything.”

She dropped the waves, letting the water settle back into its normal position. The duck surfaced and continued on its way like nothing had happened.

“Can you do that with something bigger?”

“Yeah. I can do that with anything. But I don’t want to, like, wreck your apartment.”

Akela shrugged. “I can always get a new apartment.”

Daisy huffed a laugh through her nose and they stood there silently for a moment. Then Daisy realised she’d been staring at the bathroom floor for no reason and shuffled out.

“Did I tell you about my team?” she asked.

“You probably tried,” Akela answered, joining her.

“I have this team of Inhumans called the Secret Warriors. I know you’re done with SHIELD, but, you know, the invitation stands.”

Akela refrained from rolling her eyes. Daisy had promised she wouldn’t pester her about this kind of thing. Maybe SHIELD was in short supply of soldiers. Whatever. It wasn’t her problem. “I can’t.”

“Can’t?”

“I just… it’s too much,” Akela explained, frustration creeping into her voice. “I’m sick of fighting everything, all the time.”

“Coulson’s always said you were one of the best.”

“I am. It’s exhausting. I just want to go to school and read to kids and shop. I don’t want to fight anymore.”

Daisy nodded and let out a resigned sigh. “Yeah, I get that.” And she sounded like she really did. “Okay. Guess I’ll see you later then,” Daisy said, heading towards the door.

“See you later.”

 

There was an Inhuman making trouble in the middle of the street. Akela had tried to reassure him that he was okay and help was on the way (she _assumed_ SHIELD was on the way) but he just glared at her and started moving menacingly towards her. It quickly became apparent that he knew what he was doing. What his purpose was, Akela didn’t know, nor did she care.

She tried herding people to safety, but it was difficult in a busy area like this. There were too many panicked people running in all directions. She grabbed a couple of kids who were running past her and pointed in the direction of the police station. “Hide,” she told them.

She tried to do the same to a woman who seemed frozen in place, but just as she reached her she was thrown down the street, landing on the ground with a sickening crack.

Akela spun around to yell at the trouble-maker. “Will you knock it off?! What’s your problem?!”

He made a shoving motion and she was thrown into the wall behind her. _Oh, I see,_ she thought as she hit the ground. _It’s wind. He’s using wind._ At first she thought he was doing what Daisy did.

She reached behind her head and felt blood in her hair. _Wow. He’s really mad about that date._ Then she saw his face again and remembered this wasn’t the same guy. They looked a little like each other.

Daisy and friends showed up right around then, along with the police and an ambulance. That was good because Akela didn’t think she’d be of any more use. She didn’t feel well; her head hurt and she was dizzy, and she really didn’t want to get up. Well, she kind of did, because sitting in the wet snow wasn’t comfortably, but she had no inclination to move.

“Hi.”

Akela blinked at the young man crouched in front of her. When did he get there?

“I’m Doctor Campbell. What’s your name?”

“Akela.”

“You’re going to be fine, Akela. Just stay calm. I need you to answer some questions for me, okay?”

Over Campbell’s shoulder Akela saw Daisy and two others detain the Inhuman. The police didn’t know who to talk to first. Doctors were running around trying to locate everyone who’d been hurled down the street. She wondered which crew Campbell belonged to.

Daisy was crouched in front of her now, next to Campbell. “You okay, Akela.”

Akela nodded once, just enough that Daisy could see her response. She felt like any more movement than that would rattle her brain.

“She’ll be fine,” said Campbell. “Just a mild concussion.”

“I’ll take her home. Should I stay with her?”

“Couldn’t hurt.”

Akela and Daisy walked to the nearest point where they could catch a cab. Akela felt her head clearing during the ride. By the time Akela was sitting on her couch and Daisy had the kettle on she felt all better.

“Sorry,” Akela said as Daisy sat down next to her. “Looks like you made the trip for nothing. Shouldn’t you be dealing with the other guy?”

“Cases like his I let Alisha deal with. She has a knack for them. I don’t ask.”

Akela recalled three Alishas from her time at SHIELD. She wondered if Daisy’s Alisha was one of them. She was fairly certain Alisha wasn’t Doctor Campbell or the other two men Daisy had brought with her.

“So that wasn’t your whole team today?”

“No. I probably could have taken care of it myself but they needed the practice. Some of them. Others don’t; others haven’t been cleared yet.” She sighed with frustration at all the procedures she wasn’t articulating. “Wanna join?”

“No.”

Daisy rolled her eyes, the corners of her mouth twitching upwards. They fell into one of those weird silences that occurred between them sometimes; not awkward or nervous necessarily, but heavy and tangible. Daisy stared thoughtfully at the T.V. for a moment. Akela stared at it too, waiting for her to break the silence.

“So what are you doing for Christmas?” Daisy asked eventually.

Akela winced. She hated this question. She always came off as a sad dejected loner. She answered honestly nonetheless, having faith that as a SHIELD agent Daisy wasn’t in a position to judge. “I don’t know. Read Star Wars fanfiction. Maybe there’ll be femslash.”

“No family?”

Akela shrugged one shoulder. She’d lost track of her family around the time she joined SHIELD nearly a decade ago. She could probably count the number of times she’d phoned them then on one hand. Then she’d been captured and presumed dead. After Coulson rescued her she thought it best to live and let live. She and her parents simply didn’t _need_ each other, hadn’t in a long time, and she felt she had to let them move on. She’d been absent for too long. It was around this time of the year that she remembered that her little brother was in college now, and wondered if she’d made a mistake, but then the holidays were over and she still hadn’t called them.

“Do you?”

Daisy shrugged like Akela had, and that look came over her face that made Akela wonder if she was going to offer her a job again. She seemed to decide against it though.

“We kinda just… spread it out over a couple weeks. We can’t guarantee the day off.”

Now would be the time to invite her over, Akela thought. Maybe for Christmas dinner if she had time. Not that Akela planned on much of a dinner. Probably just fish fingers, chicken nuggets, French fries; anything she could throw on a tray and stick in the oven for half an hour. She liked to stay in her pajamas and hang out in front of the T.V. all day.

“We can turn the T.V. on if you want,” she said instead. “Unless you-“

The kettle started whistling and Daisy jumped up to go make tea. Akela expected her to be on her way after that, but she came back with two mugs and sat back down. “What do you want to watch?”

Akela handed her the remote. “I’m not picky.”

Daisy flipped through the channels until settling on some TV-14 cartoon Akela was vaguely familiar with.

“Is your head feeling better?” Daisy asked, reaching for the remote again as though preparing to find something less bright and manic.

Akela brought her mug of tea close to her face, letting condensation collect under her chin. “Mm-hm.”

Daisy relaxed into the cushions. Akela let her mind go blank as she watched the weird characters bounce around on the screen. It wasn’t until her tea had cooled enough for her to drink that she realised she and Daisy had slowly slumped closer and closer to each other until leaning against each other. Daisy was sitting on her blind slide so she couldn’t subtly check if Daisy had notice or possibly fallen asleep. She felt her lift her mug to sip her tea so she was definitely awake, and seemed too relaxed to have either noticed or cared. It was nice, Akela thought, this companionable contact. It had been a while since she’d had this.

“I wonder if you could get the characters to jump out of the screen,” Daisy said.

“Well I’m not going to try. They’re vicious. And how would I get them back in?”

Daisy hummed an I-don’t-know noise. “I thought maybe I could recruit them.”

“More trouble than it’s worth, I think.”

“Probably.”

Daisy yawned and sunk further into Akela’s side. Akela had tensed up in her awareness of how close together they were, but now that Daisy seemed aware too and had no intention of moving, Akela let herself relax.

“I’m sorry I’ve been bugging you,” Daisy mumbled. She sounded half asleep.

“You haven’t been bugging me.”

“You’re right. Even I find SHIELD exhausting sometimes, and that place is practically home to me.”

“You can come over whenever you want. I’m having fish fingers for Christmas dinner, just so you know. In case it gets too hectic over there.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Daisy sat up straight, stretching her back until it cracked. She finished off the last of her tea with a wince and set the mug on the coffee table. “Well, I think I’ve left them on their own for too long now. Better get back.”

Akela stood up and walked her to the door.

“You sure you’re feeling better?” Daisy asked. “You’ll be okay on your own.”

“I’m fine. It was just a mild concussion.”

“Well, merry Christmas, in case I don’t see you before then.”

“Merry Christmas.”

 

The semester had been over for weeks so she didn’t have a study group anymore, but that little turd was still texting her. He’d managed to guilt her into agreeing to see some light show with him on Christmas Eve. That’s why she was holed up in her apartment in one of her best shirts and new jeans, half an hour late, debating whether she’d make an appearance or not. He’d already texted her twice, thinking she was waiting for him, saying he was on his way. Akela was leaning towards not showing up. With his habits, if he asked she could tell him that she’d waited, as always, and he’d probably believe her.

That was the thing about Christmas. It made you feel like you had to be nicer than you really did. She didn’t have to keep taking his calls but ‘twas the season. Ignoring him felt too mean. Once the holidays were over she’d stop having this hang-up and she’d never have to talk to him again. Hopefully.

There was a knock at her door. Her heart stopped for a moment and she went cold with dread. He hadn’t meant he was on his way _here,_ had he? Was she going to have to entertain him in her apartment all night? All she really wanted to do was watch Netflix. She wasn’t opposed to company in general, but his company she was extremely opposed to. He’d want to be fed, and she didn’t think she had the stomach for it.

She peered through the peephole and was relieved to see Daisy standing on the other side, holding two plastic bags. Akela opened the door.

“Hi,” Daisy said, flashing a smile. “I should have called first; I’m sorry. I know it’s not quite Christmas yet but it’s been a surprisingly slow night and I was hoping you might be okay with company. Do you drink beer?”

“I do if you’re offering. Come in.”

Akela took the bags from her and went to put them on the kitchen counter while Daisy stepped out of her boots and hung up her jacket.

Akela riffled through the bags. There was a six-pack and several bags of chips and pretzels and other things like that. “You sharing all this?”

“Of course,” Daisy replied, joining her in the kitchen. Then she seemed to notice that Akela was the most dressed up that Daisy had seen her. “Are you expecting a date?”

“I’m, uh, standing up a date, actually.”

Daisy raised her eyebrows and started unpacking the bags. “Hm. Not much fun then?”

Akela shook her head, getting a couple big glass bowls down from the cupboard. “So. Damn. Annoying.”

Daisy nodded as though piecing something together. “ _Ohhh._ The snow globe, right? That’s what it was?”

“I guess.”

“Yeah, it started to fill up a few more times, but went back to normal almost immediately. The scariest thing was when you got knocked on the head. It just stopped completely. But when I got back it was going again.”

“Huh. Kinda like the Weasley’s clock in Harry Potter.”

They filled up the bowls and glasses with chips and beer and carried them to the couch.

“So how have you been keeping busy?” Daisy asked, turning on the T.V. and flipping through channels until she found a Christmas movie.

“Been going through John Boyega’s Instagram.”

“Ha ha! Me too.”

“Between missions and recruitment and checking in on me, you mean? How’s all that going?”

Daisy began her answer in the usual “Oh well you know, same old, same old” fashion, but elaboration opened the way for full on venting, which led to a few hilariously embarrassing stories that Daisy’s colleagues probably wouldn’t want shared (not that Akela was going to tell anyone). Daisy talked as though she’d finally been given permission after years of silence. Akela supposed some similar situation might have been the case. She couldn’t imagine Daisy having the time to vent or reminisce at this length, let alone find someone with the time to listen.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to go off like that. I know SHIELD’s kind of a sore spot for you.”

“I don’t mind,” Akela assured her. “As long as you don’t try to hire me afterwards.”

“I won’t, I promise. So what made you want to go back to school?”

“I didn’t get as far as I wanted to the first time. SHIELD picked me up before I could finish.”

“What do you study?”

“Sociology.”

“Keep you busy?”

“Eh. One class at a time. I figure I don’t have to rush.”

Daisy asked more about school and the library what else she did with her time. Akela answered with as much detail as she could without sounding like a repetitive drone; Akela wasn’t much of a talker and she knew it frustrated people when she answered monosyllabically. Daisy wasn’t deterred though.

By the time they turned their attention back to the T.V. the movie was nearing its end and they realised they didn’t have a clue what had happened.

“Oh well. You want to watch something else?”

“Mm. I kinda just want to watch Star Wars,” Daisy admitted.

“Want to go see the Force Awakens again?”

“Yeah.”

 

Akela plopped onto the couch with a yawn.

“I see you’ve retracted the gift of life from your duck,” Daisy said as she exited the bathroom.

“It was starting to bite.”

Daisy plopped down next to her. It was late and they were crashing heavily from all the junk food, but neither of them wanted to call it a night just yet. Akela made coffee to keep them awake while they watched John Boyega and Daisy Ridley’s interviews on YouTube, and ended up falling asleep slumped against each other.

They woke up too early on Christmas morning. There was still half a pot of coffee from the previous night, which they finished off with lots of milk and sugar to mask the bitterness.

“I should at least make an appearance,” Daisy said. “Wish everyone a merry Christmas; maybe get a head start on whatever I’ve been putting off. You still planning on fish fingers for dinner?”

“Yep.”

“Maybe I’ll come over again if things stay slow. I think Coulson’s trying to give everyone a bit of a break before the New Year. Think you can stand me for another night?”

“Oh, I’ll find some way to cope.”

Once Daisy left Akela changed into her pajamas, needing something more comfortable to wear than the clothes she’d fallen asleep in. She stayed in them while she made gingerbread cookies and tidied up the apartment, but changed again when Daisy came over.

“They’re getting suspicious,” Daisy said, sitting at the island. “They think either you’re a lot of trouble or we’re dating.”

“Hm. Well, we both know I’m not any trouble.” She piled enough frozen foods to feed a family onto a tray and put it in the oven.

She picked up her little plastic reindeer and sent it galloping around the counter.

“Mind if I film that?”

Akela waved her hand in a go-ahead gesture.

Daisy took out her phone and filmed the reindeer’s path along the counter and around the sink before putting the phone back in her pocket.

“What if it falls off?”

“Then I guess it’ll just kick around on the floor. I don’t think it’ll hurt. Pretty sure it’s still plastic.” She took the last two beers out of the fridge and handed one to Daisy.

“You really don’t know why you’re able to do that?” Daisy asked.

Akela shrugged. “From what you told me yesterday I’m guessing aliens?”

“Yeah. Okay, I guess you don’t _really_ need to know more than that. That doesn’t freak you out at all?”

Akela considered this for a while, though she already had her answer. “Well… no. Maybe it’s because aliens are old news or maybe it’s because the whole… powers-getting process went pretty smooth, or maybe it’s because I don’t have any of the details, but no, the word alien doesn’t send me into a panic attack.”

“Well… that’s good. I think.”

“The word centipede on the other hand…” Akela grabbed the tin of gingerbread and headed to the couch. “Want to see if there’s any Star Wars femslash?”

It was a pretty unremarkable Christmas, which Akela didn’t mind at all. It passed the same way it had the last two years, only this time she had company. Daisy enjoyed it. She’d said so a few times throughout the evening. She said it was nice to pig out and watch T.V. with someone in the comfort of a nice apartment for once. They fell asleep on the couch again.

Akela was woken by something sharp head-butting her ankles. She bent down to pick up the reindeer and send it in a different direction. The movement was enough to wake Daisy, who was stirring next to her.

They blinked sleepily at the fire crackling on the T.V. screen. Daisy slumped against her, leaning her head on her shoulder. “I forgot; I have those crackers thingies. They’re in my coat pocket.”

“Want me to get them?”

Daisy nodded.

Akela carefully extracted herself from under Daisy’s head to go get the Christmas crackers.

“Do you want red or green?” Akela asked when she sat back down.

“I don’t care. Green.”

They grabbed two ends each and pulled.

“Smells like smoke,” Daisy said.

They put on their paper crowns and plastic rings and read each other the cheesy jokes before pushing the garbage onto the floor and going back to sleep. The reindeer did the same, curling up in its nest of wrapping paper.

 

“Are you going to take advantage of the Boxing Day sales?” Daisy asked as she put on her coat.

“Maybe.”

“Thanks for having me over.”

“Mm-hm.”

They stood there at the door, each waiting for the other to move first. Akela rested her hand on the doorknob, ostensibly to open the door for her, but really because it required her to reach behind Daisy and it closed the distance between them just a little bit more. Daisy started to lean in- and then her phone buzzed in her pocket.

“Coulson’s getting impatient,” she said after reading the text. “Guess I should get back there, see what’s up.”

“Is it urgent?”

“I doubt it. I’ll see you later.”

“See you.”

 

Akela bought her textbooks for the winter term, went to the library to see about jobs, signed up for an art class, and packed up all the Christmas stuff. She tried her hand at chocolates, which turned out decent. She bought an aquarium and filled it with all manner of toys she could find; little plastic clown fish and manta rays and sharks and dolphins and blow fish. She was pleased to find that plastic creatures didn’t eat other plastic creatures, and they didn’t need to be fed. She went out and bought a little tub of jungle animals. She wanted to build a safari, but one of them always managed to escape their confines and she’d end up stepping on it, so she returned the animals to their normal state and gave them to her neighbor’s kid.

Daisy called her a few times but didn’t come over again until late New Year’s Eve. She looked ragged and tired, and Akela was pretty sure they’d be having another accidental sleepover.

“Are you hungry?” Akela asked. “You should have told me you had a week from hell; I would have cooked an actual meal. All I made was apple pie.”

“That’s okay. All I want is apple pie.”

They ate at the window sill, watching the fireworks that had been going on and off all evening, and periodically checking the alarm on Daisy’s phone which she had set to go off at midnight. They had one minute to decide whether or not they’d kiss when that happened.

“We were interrupted the last time,” Daisy said. “I was too slow.”

“Coulson’s just a cock blocker.”

Daisy snorted.

“Or, you know, whatever the word is I’m looking for. I’ve never done the kiss at midnight thing.”

“Well, we need to fix that.”

They watched the countdown on her phone.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one-

Nothing happened.

“Damn this piece of crap,” Daisy muttered. “Sorry. I really need a new-“

Akela kissed her.

“We don’t need an alarm clock. There’s fireworks outside,” she reminded her when they pulled apart.

“True. Happy twenty-sixteen.”

“Sorry I drove you into a ditch that one time.”

Daisy laughed and kissed her again.


End file.
